Meghan Markle

Rachel Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, to a Caucasian father of Irish origin and an African-American mother. Her father, Thomas W. Markle, is an Emmy Award winning lighting director, and her mother, Doria Radlan, is a therapist and yoga instructor. Her parents later got divorced, and she has a step-sister from her father's side. She spent a lot of time with her father on the sets of the film 'Married... with Children'. She attended Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse as a child. Later, she went to Immaculate Heart High School, an all-girls independent Roman Catholic high school in Los Angeles. She completed double majors in theatre and international studies from Northwestern University, Illinois, in 2003. Following her graduation, she worked as an intern at the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires. Markle is close friends with Serena Williams, Jessica Mulroney, Priyanka Chopra and Mubina Rattonsey.

In 2016, the 'Time' magazine included her in its list of "100 Most Influential People in the World".

In January 2018, she deleted her social media accounts and thanked all her fans and followers.

According to Meghan Markle, who grew up in a mixed-race family, becoming an actress was not the obvious choice for her as it is one of the most label-driven industry in which each role comes with strict ethnic descriptions. A friend of her reportedly showed one of the student films she did in college to a manager who gave her a break into the entertainment industry. However, initially she found it hard to book a job because of her ethnic background; she was not black enough for a black role and neither was she white enough for a white one. She eventually bagged a role in an episode of the daytime soap opera 'General Hospital' in 2002. In the following years, she appeared in a number of television shows; however, her breakthrough role came in 2011, when she landed the main role of Rachel Zane on the USA network series 'Suits'.

Meghan Markle, who is very proud of her unique social identity, feels that Rachel Zane is the perfect role for her. Thankfully, the producers didn't look for a cast from a certain racial background. They even went a step further when they introduced an African-American man as Rachel's father during season two. It caused a sudden curiosity about Markle's own parents, sometimes in the form of offensive comments on social media that had to be blocked, but she is no stranger to being prey to such ignorance. While taking her for a walk, her black mother would often be mistaken for a nanny. In school, she had to fill in mandatory census which asked her to choose one of her parents in order to determine her identity. Moreover, her dorm-mate found it normal for her mixed-race parents to be divorced.

Markle, now involved with a number of organizations dealing with social issues, started to respond to social biases very early in her life. In fact, at the age of 11, she wrote a letter to the then First Lady, Hillary Clinton, complaining about a TV ad from a soap manufacturer with the slogan "Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans". Within a few months, the word "women" was replaced with "people" to avoid sound sexist.

Meghan Markle started dating producer, Trevor Engelson, in 2004 and finally got married on September 10, 2011. However, they separated within 20 months and divorced in August, 2013.

She reportedly met Prince Harry when she was in London to watch her friend Serena Williams play at Wimbledon in June 2016. They started dating soon after and made headlines post their announcement of engagement. She was one of Google's most searched personalities in 2016. They got engaged in late 2017 and the news of their engagement was officially announced on 27 November. After her engagement, she decided to retire from the acting industry.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry got married on 19 May 2018 in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. The ceremony was attended by over 600 guests including Queen Elizabeth and other important members of the royal family.